Family Background

A direct descendant of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson was the member of an illustrious Chassidic family. His oldest son, Menachem Mendel, was the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson was born on Nissan 18th, 5638 [1878] to an illustrious Chassidic family. His father, Rabbi Boruch Schneur, was the oldest of the seven sons of the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, (also known as the “Tzemach Tzedek”).

Rabbi Levi Yitzchok had two brothers, Shmuel and Shalom Shachna, and a sister, Roda Sima. Rabbi Shmuel later became the Chief Rabbi of Nikolayev in the Ukraine, while Rabbi Shalom Shachna headed the Rabbinical court in the city of Shiraka. Eventually, Rabbi Shalom Shachna settled in Jerusalem.

After receiving Rabbinical ordination from a committee of twelve renowned Torah leaders, including the celebrated Rabbi Chaim Brisker and the Chief Rabbi of Lodz, Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Meisel, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok married Chana Yanovsky. His father-in-law, Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, was the Chief Rabbi of Nikolayev, where the young couple lived until 1909.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchok and Rebbitzen Chana had three sons. The oldest, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, became the present Lubavitcher Rebbe. The others were Dov Ber, who died during the Holocaust, and Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib, a renowned scholar and scientist.